Information Technology
Carnival UK has incorporated AMOS/Mimic on nine cruise ships to make maintenance more cost-effective.
users in CMA CGM's offices and for the crew of the first pilot vessels, providing them with valuable experience in the use of the software. The overall implementation included building of new maintenance databases for the vessels and providing necessary means for fleet wide installations. At present, the system is working successfully on 50 CMA CGM ships, and in three shore offices in Le Havre, London, and the company's headquarters in Marseilles. In Q3 2008, the fleet and offices will be upgraded with the new BN2.5, which integrates requirements coming from CMA CGM experts. BASSneTM Operations (Navigation & Engine Events Log) and BASSnet SAFIR (the safety management) will also be implemented.
WeatherNav
Jeppesen Marine said that trials of WeatherNav -- an integrated digital chart, weather and sea state forecasting solution -- onboard two Seatrans vessels concluded successfully. Seatrans, a shipowner and operator in chemicals and forestry products shipping, signed contracts with Jeppesen Marine to implement WeatherNav on its entire 21 vessel fleet. WeatherNav combines Jeppesen Marine electronic charts with updated accurate meteorological data in the CMap OceanView software and in compatible bridge systems to create an integrated route planning tool. Regular updates and full decision-making support with worldwide weather and sea forecasts, combined with authorized digital charts, ensure that officers are as aware as possible of the ship's situation
August 2008
and route. "Feedback from masters on our ships using this solution on a trial basis was very positive;" said Karl Johan Kleppe, Seatrans' Safety & QA manager. "They found the forecasts and route planning very useful and accurate. As a result, we chose to install this on all of our vessels across the fleet. It is now our company standard." Kleppe explains that the system sold itself among officers, as vessels without WeatherNav regularly contacted masters with the system to get weather forecasts for their area. Now that Seatrans has opted to expand WeatherNav use across the fleet, Kleppe is focusing on implementation and training. WeatherNav forecasts originate from the ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), and its cyclone warnings from the World Meteorological Organization - a UN body. Onboard updates come in either HTML (Internet) or a number of email formats, and require only rapid review and approval by the master.
ABS Nautical'S New Vetting MKodule
operators improve the timeliness and accuracy of their responses to observations made during a vetting inspection, while also encouraging better preparation for future inspections through the improved use of data. "OSG highlighted to us a widespread need among tanker operators for a system that makes it easier for them to prepare for, track and monitor the actions taken during the vetting procedure" said ABS NS VicePresident, Joe Woods. "Integration with the Quality & Compliance and Maintenance & Repair modules within NS 5 provides one trail for users to follow the actions around an inspection, including the inspection report, the equipment involved, any maintenance required, and the closing of associated corrective action requests." This module has the ability to use multiple vetting guideline documents, including the OCIMF SIRE standards and the Chemical Distribution Institute (CDI) standards.
Growing Pains
ABS Nautical Systems released version 5.3.5 of the NS 5 fleet management software, providing users access to the new Vetting Module and expanded Root Cause Analysis tools. Believed to be the first vetting system incorporated into a comprehensive, fully integrated fleet management software program, the NS 5 module was developed with input and guidance from Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG), an existing ABS Nautical Systems client. The module has been designed to help tanker, bulk and barge
Cyprus-based Intership Navigation Company Ltd. (ISN was established in 1988 as a vessel owning and management company, with divisions that handle new building design/construction supervision, technical maintenance, drydocking, purchasing, chartering, commercial operations and insurance. ISN manages a fleet of 50 company-owned vessels, which include dry-cargo ships, LPG tankers and product carriers, all trading worldwide. ISN also manages the crews of an additional fleet of 70 ships. The company employs more than 2,500 seafarers onboard its ships, with
another 1000 seafarers on leave. Initially, ISN managed the chartering and operations of its ships from its HQ in Cyprus. However, the company was experiencing exponential growth, both in the number of its managed/owned vessels as well as its managed-only vessels. To meet the management challenge of its growing fleet size, ISN expanded its base of commercial management companies. This meant that the management function became even more geographically dispersed. In order to administer all activities: chartering, operations, on-board vessel data collection-and most importantly, voyage financials-ISN needed one comprehensive software solution that all its companies could implement over time regardless of their location. ISN was seeking a system that would port seamlessly from chartering/operations to the existing accounting software, or alternatively offer a complete accounting module within the system. The ISN team selected Veson Nautical's Integrated Maritime Operations System (IMOS). The Veson solution was also chosen because, like its commercial management companies, Veson Nautical became ISN's virtual partner. Today ISN is reaping the benefits, including: enhanced control over information across departments and partners; ability to share and monitor information securely across partners; improved monitoring of estimates, actuals and outstandings; accounting that can be done within the software, with customization if needed; chartering and operations modules that can scale up quickly; and 'real-time' customer service.
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